The ideology that calls itself ‘liberalism’ ultimately boils down to creating a sense of superiority for its true believers on the cheap. As Christopher Caldwell wrote in the Weekly Standard in 2002, for many, “liberalism is not a belief at all. No, it’s something more important: a badge of certain social aspirations. That is why the laments of the small-town leftists get voiced with such intemperance and desperation. As if those who voice them are fighting off the nagging thought: If the Republicans aren’t particularly evil, then maybe I’m not particularly special.” Fred Siegel’s new book, The Revolt Against the Masses, is all about the history of how this increasingly myopic worldview came to be created, as we’ll explore soon in an interview here.

As America’s banner sporting event, the Super Bowl naturally has its own mythology. Even people who don’t know the difference between a punt and a kick-off will break out the seven-layer dip and pick up a six-pack for the big day. It’s one of those rituals, like Black Friday, that has expanded into a kind of quasi-holiday in the USA.

What to do with non-sports fans at a Super Bowl party? Having made this mistake in the past, I can tell you right now that they do not want you to explain the game to them as it unfolds. If they’ve made it to age 30 without learning what a first down is, chances are good that they don’t care to know and, for many, the real fun of the Super Bowl lies in the moral preening. A few people go so far as to brag about not watching the game at all. Most, however, are content to come to the party, squint at the screen, and make a few dainty remarks about how “it really is such a violent game.” Then they wander away in search of the cheese cubes.

Super Bowl myths are mostly an outgrowth from all that pent-up disapproval, though they also gratify the non-fan’s need to find something to say about football on the one day each year he condescends to watch it. If you don’t want to discuss how the Seahawks’ top-ranked secondary will handle Peyton Manning’s stellar high-octane attack, it can be fun to argue about whether Super Bowl Sunday holds the record for pizza delivery (true), or whether it accounts for two-thirds of the year’s avocado sales (false). But most of the rumors seem to focus on the negative, and so, in the interests of helping fans defend themselves against the onslaught, here’s the skinny behind some of the most pervasive Super Bowl myths.